Taiwan’s government has launched a website to encourage Chinese nationals to report intelligence tips, saying it was offering a secure channel to what it says is an increasing number of people who are fed up with the system and want change.

Background

Taiwan and China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, have long spied on each other, and Taiwan in particular has reported an increased number of Chinese espionage cases. Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said on its website that in recent years, China’s economy has faced growing difficulties, while political control has remained tight.

The website opens to a one-minute promotional video that the bureau said was AI-generated, showing a Chinese civil servant witnessing colleagues being investigated and removed from their posts. The video ends with the official buying a mobile phone and typing on it, saying: “Now is the time to change”.

The website is blocked in China, though many Chinese use VPNs to access other blocked sites like Western social media and search engines. The bureau called on Chinese nationals at home or abroad to “actively provide information and make changes with courage”.

International Context

The new tactic is following the lead of agencies in such countries as the U.S., Britain and Israel. The channel enables Chinese nationals to provide intelligence-related information to “expand the bureau’s diverse intelligence sources”, it said.

China has tried similar tactics itself. In 2024, China announced an email address where people could report tipoffs about crimes committed by Taiwan “separatists”. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.